Predictors of Reading Comprehension Outcomes in School-Aged Children with Cochlear Implants.

Abstract

By bypassing damaged portions of the inner ear and stimulating the auditory nerve directly, cochlear implants (CIs) provide children with significant hearing loss with greater access to the sound representations of words essential for speech and language development and later literacy learning. To date, research on the educational benefits of CIs has primarily focused on children’s speech and language development and less on the potential improvements in literacy achievement stemming from this medical advance. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the initial speech and language benefits for young children with CIs are associated with improved reading comprehension in the early elementary years, and if so, what factors appear to be significant predictors of improved reading outcomes. Thirty-one children with CIs (ages 7 - 11 years), with an average age at implant activation of 1.9 years, participated in this study. Over two-thirds (68%) of the children scored within or above the average range for their age (i.e., standard score ≥ 85) on the Passage Comprehension subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson III-NU Tests of Achievement. However, the group mean remained more than half a standard deviation (SD) below the norm population, despite an above-average group mean on measures of Performance IQ. Path analyses revealed that proficiency in children’s reading comprehension outcomes was associated with a younger age at implant activation, higher parental education, greater word recognition proficiency, and a broader vocabulary base. These findings highlight the importance of early identification and treatment of hearing loss. Additionally, they indicate the need for continued research and interventions targeted at supporting children’s vocabulary learning in the home and school context to foster reading development in children with CIs.